Dear Auntie Em, Thanks for Letting Us Borrow the Bouncer

Repurposing Junk Mail

There is a place in the Pagan Piazza for purchased toys, designed to stimulate our son's mind and physically exercise him.  Then there are the really fun toys:

"Ing"

A glimpse of what goes on between father and son while mom is at work:

Napping 

Striping

Reading

Moving

Resting 

Assisting

Cuting:)

Throw Back Post--A North Carolina Nocturne (In Four Movements)

I've been meaning to transfer the content from our old iWeb blog to this site for a while now.  Today I woke up and decided that I would start the process this morning.  Keep an eye out for "throw back" posts from time to time--a snapshot of the days when Jon and Jenn were younger, childless, in better shape and living in different parts of the country:)  


Here's a post from Wednesday, July 1, 2009:





A North Carolina Nocturne (In Four Movements)

A composition inspired by an evening spent in Charlotte because of a flight delayed by a rogue storm.

Movement One: Le Petit Roche

Jennifer had intended to leave Little Rock on Tuesday at 6:03 PM.  She was scheduled to land in Charlotte at 8:53 PM, where she would board another plane bound for DC, where Jon would pick her up at 11:36 PM. 

Instead, the heavens opened over Little Rock, making it impossible for her to leave before 7:00 PM.  She stood in line to reschedule her connecting flight for an hour (in front of a business man who had had a very challenging day).  She was able to book the earliest flight out of Charlotte the following morning at 6:00 AM.  Since it wasn’t cost effective to rent a car to drive to a hotel, only to sleep for four hours, Jennifer decided that she would stay the night at the Charlotte airport when she arrived.

Minutes later, her plane was given clearance to land.  She boarded it, and landed in Charlotte at 10:25 PM.

Movement Two:  Evening Migration

Jennifer sat in terminal E of the Charlotte airport, resting from the flight and reading.  She had been sneezing, and did not feel well.  Shortly after midnight, a security officer perched on a segway sped around a row of chairs and approached her.  He informed her that she would have to relocate to the check-in area if she intended to stay in the airport, that she could go through security again at 4:00 AM.  So Jennifer complied and requested that the segway officer escort her to the check-in area.  She had no idea the Charlotte airport was so expansive.  

Jennifer’s post-flight speed was no match for segway officer, who would continually speed ahead of her and look back impatiently as she caught up with him.  Together, they migrated to the other side of the airport, like an inch worm—him speeding up in the front, her catching up in the back.  This process took about 10 minutes.  

12:00 AM

Movement Three: Nesting and the Posture of Sleepless Jenns

Jennifer arrived at the check-in area to find dozens of sleepy passengers draped over chairs, sprawled out on the floor, and curled up in corners.  In an attempt to be strategic, Jennifer settled down on the floor near an outlet, a restroom, the arrivals/departures console, and a 24 hour Starbucks.  She was pleased with her spot.

Over the course of the night, Jennifer fought to stay awake.  She changed out of her work clothes into the comfy, draw-string khakis her sister had given her, and the pink t-shirt that she thought gave the illusion of a little more color to her face.  She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair.  All failed attempts to feel fresher and more alert.  

She read. 

She surfed the net.

She let her dying phone charge.

At about 3:00 AM, Jennifer decided that she was not only sleepy, she was exhibiting cold symptoms.  Thankfully, her husband had packed a powerful combination antihistamine/ decongestant in the overnight bag during their last excursion, and the Starbucks offered tea and honey.  

Unable to stay awake any longer, Jennifer built a nest from her belongings, draped her sweater over her carry-on, and attempted to sleep.  While she never actually fell asleep, she did feel better lying down.    

2:30 AM

Movement Four:  Acceptance

At 4:15, Jennifer was awakened by a group of people bemoaning their poorly marked tickets.  No gate number.  Jennifer had been “sleeping” for about 45 minutes.  She could see people lining up to pass through security, so she decided to gather her things and follow suit.  But not before eating a defrosted bagel and taking some Advil.  In a haze, she made the mistake of buying a small bottle of water at Starbucks from the kind woman that sold her tea an hour before.  Upon reaching the security check point, she was asked to either chug the water, or surrender it immediately.  How could she have forgotten so quickly?  No liquids past the check point.

After passing through security, Jennifer shuffled back across the airport to terminal E.  She saw the segway officer drinking a venti caramel frappuccino and talking with his colleagues (also on segways).  She felt short and slow of pace.  She arrived at her gate shortly before 5:00 AM.  She sat at the gate with her eyes closed, waiting to board at 5:33 AM.  At that time, nine other people boarded the plane with her.        

5:00 AM

At this point, acceptance (that she had not had a restful evening) had given way to despair as Jennifer realized that she would still have to go in to work in a couple of hours to wrap up some last-minute, administrative tasks.  The thought was almost enough to evoke tears.  

Although the outside air was about 75 degrees, the cabin of the plane was extremely cold.  Jennifer knew this would be a quick flight, so she drew her knees up and crossed her arms—a go-to move of hers to preserve body heat and stay warm.  She could make it an hour.

She could not make it an hour.

Jennifer rang the call light for the flight attendant, a nice man named Glenn, and asked if he had a blanket on board.  Glenn offered to sell Jennifer a blanket for $7 US dollars.  Jennifer shrieked on the inside, but declined Glenn’s offer and thanked him for his time.  

At 6:50 AM, Jennifer landed in DC – 7 hours and 14 minutes behind schedule.  She had been awake for roughly 24 hours and 15 minutes.  This fact was not betrayed by her appearance, or her expression.

6:50 AM

Fin

Encore

Later that morning, Jennifer was able to take a glorious nap.  She is currently sleepy, and looking forward to going to bed again soon.

*Note to 2009 Jenn from 2011 Jenn--Oh, poor, naive girl.  If only you knew how little sleep you will be getting in the future:)*

In the Wee Small Hours

There are certain things you should never do under certain circumstances; like blogging at 2:30 AM when you don't have all of your faculties about you.  It's akin to someone picking up a phone if they've had too much to drink, or shopping while you're hungry, or driving while agitated.  Or trying to spell "agitated" correctly at 2:30 AM...


So I'm going to go to bed before I wake up in a few hours to discover that I've diapered our baby with hair sculptor or purchased an as-seen-on-tv cat toilet training kit.  Or a German television studio on eBay.